Various multi-compartment medicinal dispensing devices are commercially available for providing multiple unit doses of medication. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,856, whose disclosure is incorporated by reference herein, there is disclosed and claimed a multi-compartment medicinal dispensing device which is arranged for holding plural doses of medicine therein for subsequent dispensation. The device is arranged to be simply loaded and labeled by hospital or other personnel.
Unlike prior art devices, the device of said patent is arranged for manual unit dose use. To that end, that dispensing device comprises a base and a cover sheet. The base comprises a plurality of individual medicine holding units, each having flanges thereon. The flanges have corners and are detachably connected along predetermined weakened lines so that the flange of one unit can be separated from the flange of an adjacent unit to separate the units from one another. Each unit also includes a chamber with an outer opening depending from the flanges forming the unit. The chamber is adapted to hold the drug, tablet, capsule or the like therein. The base is formed of plastic or any other suitable material. A cover sheet, formed of paper, cardboard and the like is arranged to seal the medicines within the individual units. The cover sheet has a removable liner sheet releasably secured thereto. The cover sheet includes an underside surface having an adhesive thereon and is perforated along predetermined lines corresponding to the flange lines to form a plurality of individual closures therebetween. Each of the closures corresponds to an individual unit of the base and is arranged to seal the opening of the chamber in the unit which is disposed thereunder. Areas of the cover sheet which are disposed immediately over the chamber openings of the base are non-tacky. At least one corner of the flange of each unit is cut away so that the existing corner of the individual closure overlying the cut away area functions as a lift tab to facilitate the separation of the closure from the flange to which it is connected, to thereby provide access to the contents of the chamber disposed thereunder.
In one embodiment of the invention disclosed in said patent, the article-holding units are provided in an array of five rows of five columns, i.e., five units per row.
As mentioned above, the cover sheet is formed of paper or other suitable material and includes a top surface which is suitable for carrying indicia thereon, e.g., information about the prescription, etc.
While the medicinal dispensing device of the aforenoted patent is suitable for its intended purposes, it may not provide sufficient protection for moisture sensitive drugs stored in humid or wet conditions for an extended period of time.